Friday, August 19, 2011

How To Weight A Doll

This article originally from: Sarah Waldorf Playroom. Sarah is selling the doll materials, kit and also ready made doll. Feel free to visit her website.

Weighted dolls feel so amazingly real, and children feel comforted by the solid feeling of the extra weight. The best dolls to weight are the baby dolls, and in this tutorial I am weighting the DreamTime baby from this pattern. I use quartz sand to weight my dolls because, for one, it is in abundance where I live and, for two, I have tried rice and millet and both got eaten - once by mice and the other by weevils! So I find sand the best product to weight dolls. I usually stick to between 200-250gms of extra weight, because any more than that puts too much pressure on the stitching and fabric.

Step 1: Find some sand. My backyard is full of it! Put it through a sieve and throw away any sticks or sharp bits.
2. Sew a bag (approx 3.5"-2.5") using the sewing machine on a small stitch, fill with sand to 200-250gms
3. Tightly hand sew the open bit, and soften the corners of the bag.
4. Now the bag is ready to place inside the doll's body.
5. Encase with wool stuffing:
6. Stuff the buttocks of the doll;
7. Push the bag, surrounded by wool stuffing into the lower belly region of the doll's body, then continue stuffing as before:
8. Use a wooden spoon to make sure that body is stuffed evenly.
9. Sew doll as per the rest of the pattern:

 Your doll is ready!

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